July 11, 2015 All American Lunch and Dinner Sautéed Scallops with Deep Fried Tofu and Mushrooms and Taka Choy

July 11, 2015 All American Lunch and Dinner, Sautéed Scallops with Stir Fried Taka Choy and tofu 

Today I finished drafting my reply brief for the 10th Circuit and experienced an emotional lift.  Suzette brought home a roasted chicken and the monthly three course meal offering at the Bistro called “The All American Meal” that includes BBQ brisket, baked Mac and Cheese, cole slaw, and a slice of rhubarb/Apple pie.  We ate it at around 2:30 and loved it since neither of us had eaten anything all day.

Then we drove to Costco got the first time in two weeks.  We did not go wild, since kitchen construction I'd beginning this week.  Suzette picked up some mushrooms, and we bought ten fresh scallops ($17.99/lb.) for around $12.50. 

We went home and rested for a bit and did more packing of the kitchen items..

Around 8:15 I started cooking.  I chopped about five or six stalks of Taka Choy, separating the husky stalks from the tender green leaves.  I also chopped about 1 Tbsp. of garlic and ginger, about three or four shitake mushrooms, and one large shallot.

I made 1 cup of rice and then when it was nearly ready began to stir fry the vegetables.  I heated about 1/3 inch of peanut oil in the wok and tossed in about 3 ounces of cubed tofu and deep fried the tofu cubes until quite brown.  Then I poured some of the peanut oil in the medium skillet Suzette was using for sautéing the scallops and she began to sauté the scallops, while I re-heated peanut oil and first cooked the garlic, shallot, and ginger; then added the heavier stalks of Taka Choy and finally the mushrooms and green leaves.  I added some Amontillado sherry to the vegetables and added back the deep fried tofu cubes and about1 Tbsp. Of tamari soy sauce and made a thickening sauce of 1 Tbsp. of corn starch with a bit of water and sherry and made the vegetables' cooking liquid into a sauce by stirring in the thickening mixture.

We opened an Argentinean Sauvignon Blanc from the Mendoza Valley named Santiago Station (Total Wine $4.49, less 15%) that tasted quite dry with the rich scallops.

We mixed the rice with, the vegetables and the cut up scallops with the sauce for a delightful Chinese style dinner.

Bon Appetit